Crochet Hook, Mid March Auction (and another story)

Aw another auction is over and another bunch of hooks will be off to new masters.  Kinda sad when I think of it.  Ah but there will hopefully be happy customers.  To all who visited during the auction, thank you for dropping by!  To the high bidders, please consider using paypal for payment. There is a small box in the left hand margin of this page marked "make a donation".  If you click on the box you'll be whisked away to paypal land where friendly folks take your money.  Please, when you're forking over payment to the paypal folks, include an extra $2.50 for postage, unless you want the package sent outside the US.  In that case, please email me where the package is to be mailed and I'll provide you with a shipping estimate.
If you don't use Paypal, please contact me and we'll discuss other payment means.
Thanks again everyone!
Jimbo





First, a story for you, about a remarkable person I met recently.  Benita was the winner of the Jimbo Valentine Hook, from a contest I ran around about Valentine's day.  You can see the contest and hook a few posts back here in the blog.
Benita entered the contest and won.  I sent her the hook and in the process, got to know this remarkable person.  Benita is relatively new to crochet, but when I asked her to show me some of her work, what she sent tells me she's just a bit modest.  Here's an example:

And here's Benita with her Valentine hook..

And what does Benita do when she isn't crocheting?  Well here's a little bit straight from Benita (note the modesty right off the bat)..

"I'm really not that interesting. I'm the youngest of four, one brother, and two sisters (twins). I take care of the twins who are disabled. I'm not a designer, I'm just a mother of a beloved adult daughter, from south Louisiana who loves to crochet. I haven't been long at it, I still consider myself a "newbie".

I learned to crochet at age 14 during a home economics class at high school. I crocheted off and on for the past 39 years. Two years ago I had to go on dialysis; 3 times a week for four hours per session. That's when I started crocheting regularly. I have to kill time in some way, right? Crochet is my stress-reliever, my relaxer, my escape.

I love it! I like to listen to music, read, and take walks with my sidekick, Aku (black lab), but my favorite thing to do besides crocheting is to collect beautiful things. This can become addicting at times. My favorite collector items are yarns and recently, "Jimbo Hooks".

I like to make headbands and neckware such as cowls, neckwarmers, and scarves but will try anything that "speaks" to me. I hope to be a designer one day. I love my "heart hook"; going to use to make my first afghan as soon as my yarn comes in. I'm so excited, can't wait to start. I did test drive my "heart" for a few rows and it feels heavenly. I love the way wood warms in your hand."

Crochets during dialysis, takes care of her disabled sisters.  A remarkable person, Benita and I'm so pleased she won the Valentine hook!  I meet the nicest people in this business!

and now

THE AUCTION

Fast on the heels of the last auction, I bring you MORE!  (I've been a busy guy!)

wow!!  Look, I was able to use photoshop to number the hooks!!  Click on photo to enlarge (you'll see where I messed up on #3)

Sorry for the delay, but I messed up with the previous picture and included hooks that were already sold.  So  I re-took the picture with some extra hooks and now ALL the hooks you see are for sale.  However, since there are so many to choose from and the quality of this bunch is so high, there will be a minimum bid on any hook in this bunch, of $25.  They're all worth more, but, well I'd just hate to let any go for less.  Greedy?  Maybe.  But so's you know the reason for the proliferation... I'm trying to raise funds to pay for roof repair/replacement up on the ranch, to eliminate damage caused by Ice damming (water's been leaking into the dining room and a bedroom).  Hooks paid for the front porch, now we're working on the roof! 
Anyways, not to bore you, lets get on to the goodies!
Lets take a look at this bunch starting with hook on the far left (the one pointing down) and then move counter-clockwise from there, and number them in ascending order.


Hook #1  This could be one of my favorite all time hooks.  I made it long ago and have kept it in my own collection just because it has such spectacular grain for a local domestic wood.  It's made of Pacific Yew and if you click on the picture to enlarge, you'll see what I mean.  A truly beautiful piece of wood married to a very functional L (8mm) hook with ample thumb rest.  Oh and it's a long one.. a little over 8 inches long.

Hook #2  Ever hear of "Queen Wood", well me either.  But what you see here is a fine example.  It's a very hard, yet very pretty wood... I guess what you might expect from a Queen, eh?  The grain is wildly differentiated, from red to tan, and the stark contrast runs out the shank and head of the hook, with half red on the right and half tan on the left.  Highly unusual, but again a very functional hook, this time in a size F (3.75mm) and 7 1/4 inches long.

Hook #3 is one of my comfortable "egg" hooks.  Easily held in the palm of the hand, this Maple J (6mm) hook is a joy to use.  I've had feedback from folks who had hand pain and thought their crochet days were over, but who are now crocheting pain free with an "Egg" hook.   I have yet to hear a complaint about this hook style, and for my limited experience this shape would be my choice....However, like they say on TV, results may vary.  Oh it's 5 inches long and about 1 1/2 inches at the largest diameter of the egg shape.

Hook#4  Talk about contrasting grain!  This is Zeeba (Zebra) wood and you can easily see how it got it's name.  A lightweight hardwood, it's great for large hooks that would otherwise get a bit much to heft during a long project.   It's an L (8mm) and is 8 1/4 inches long.


Hook#5  I just can't quit whittling hooks.  And I tell you what.  My daughter in law has a hook that I whittled for her.  She has access to all my turned hooks too.  What hook does she choose?  The whittled hook, hands down.  Why?  Good question.  I think it's because she loves rustic things.  These hooks are about 50% branch, 50% crochet hook, but made to be comfortable while crocheting.  You want a truly "back to nature" crochet hook, this is your huckleberry.  It's made from a branch of the old apple tree up on the crick, and is 7mm (between a K and an L), 7 inches long.


Hook #6 Another new wood for me, although not new to crochet hooks.  This is Canary wood (no it doesn't say cheep).  It's a fine hook making wood that's relatively expensive, but worth the few extra dollars, don't you think?  You're seeing the pink side,  Turn it over and it's a much more varied grain between the pinkish color and an orange/tan color.  Very pretty hook, and very useful.  It's an F (3.75mm) and 7 1/2 inches long.  Warning:  Don't let your cat near this hook.  heh

Hook #7  Not 100% certain, but I think this is Brazilian Cherry.  Not the soft Cherry we have up here in the States, but a really hard hardwood.  And pretty to boot.  And smoooooooth!  This hook is truly heirloom quality.  Beauty made to last.  It's an H (5mm) and is 7 5/8 inches long.


Hook #8  Ok.  Here's another from Jimbo's heart.  This is another hook made of wood donated by my partner, the old apple tree up on the ranch.  If you know Jimbo hooks, you know about the old apple tree that started all this.  And it keeps on shedding branches and I keep on turning them into hooks.  Talk about provenance.  Almost fetches a tear to think about.  This tree was there back in the early 5o's when I lived at the ranch as a little kid.  It gave Mom apples for some of the best pies ever.  It's helped deer and bear survive the hard climate up there.  And now it's helping me with wood for hooks... and it's alive and well; just waiting for another season to start.  Feels like family, that tree.  Anyways, this hook is brought to you by my partner the apple tree and me.  It's a G and stands 7 1/4 inches tall.  I left a little bit of bark on the heel end to retain a bit of the tree's character in the hook and to show the approximate size of the parent branch.

Hook #9  Emotional attachments aside, I'd have to pick this hook as the most beautiful of this group.  And that's saying something!.  It's made of Cocobolo.  Nuff said?  Maybe not for those unfamiliar with exotic woods, but Cocobolo is simply one of the most beautiful and desirable wood around.  It's a wood coveted by musical instrument makers.  Cream colors overlaid by dark crimsons that almost go to black, this hook is one that you can just stare at; but do that when your not crocheting because this hook will crochet up a storm.  It's a size 7 (4.5mm) and snuggles your hand at 6 3/4 inches long.

Hook #10 is bound to be a favorite.  It's another exotic hook, made from almost black Zircote.  One might think it to be Ebony, it's so black.  But noo it's not.  Zircote often is found with swirls of blond wood making cloud-like figure in the wood.  This piece missed the blond parts except for a tiny fleck in the heel.   It's a very hard wood, like ebony, and works hard to dull my tools.  This one required at least two sharpenings before the hook decided to show itself.  But oh what a beauty!  It's also a size 7 (4.5mm) and is 6 7/8 inches of black beauty.

and at last we have ..

Hook #11 A D (3.25mm)!  This is a combination of Jimbo and "Pony" brand hooks.  I made a Redheart handle, "Pony" made the shank and hook.  I joined the two together for a really comfortable hook that otherwise would be a challenge to hold comfortably.  Overall length is 6 7/8 inches.

Ok so there you have the auction hooks! Want to bid? Simply email me at jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com and I'll post your bid below. Tie bids are settled by the time received, the earlier bid wins. Also please increase bids by a $5 minimum. The auction will close at 10pm Pacific time on Thursday. March 14th (lucky St Paddy's day!).


Bids:


Hook 1 (Yew)
Paula likes yew.. $25
Doug like yew too...$40
Oh oh, Doug... Dan's here with $50

Hook 2 (Queen)
Willow goes $25
Michele's back for another hook.. $30
Michele in again for $35
Stacie goes to $45

Hook 3 (egg)
Doug's eggscellent bid: $30

Hook 4 (Zeeba)
Doug's first in with $30
Marty's here with $35

Hook 5 (whittled apple)
Anamaria's here with $25

Hook 6 (Canary)
April ! $25
Marty goes $30
April takes it to $35

Hook 7 (Brazilian Cherry)
Heather goes $25
Deb bumps it up to $30
Michele says $35

Hook 8 (Deadman Crick Apple G)
April !!  $25
Andrea takes it to $30
Dan: $50
April bumps it up to $60

Hook 9 (Cocobolo)
Willow with $25
Marty with $30
Michele goes to $35
Stacie's at $45

Hook 10 (Zircote)
Paula's here with $25
Benita goes $30 for this black beauty

Hook 11 (RedHeart)
Stacie once more... $35